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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26733814">lattes &amp; scones</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/discountghost/pseuds/discountghost'>discountghost</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>EXO (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops &amp; Cafés, Baristas, Coffee Shop Owner!Junmyeon, Coffee Shops, Gen, I know nothing about coffee lmao</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 09:56:09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,000</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26733814</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/discountghost/pseuds/discountghost</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>His day started around 6 am.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Everyone/Everyone</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>lattes &amp; scones</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/zvirk77/gifts">zvirk77</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>a commission for zvirk4 on twt! this was really such a cute idea ^-^</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>His day started around 6 am.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That was how most of Junmyeon’s days started, so he didn’t think that this one would be particularly special. A run to start the day off, </span>
  <span>a shower and getting ready for work. His commute was easy when all he had to do go down the steps. The coffee shop hadn't been his. Not to start. It'd been owned by a kind old couple who rented the space above it. They'd given him the apartment and then a job. Childless, and giving - so giving. He thought about it often as he rolled out the dough for the bread. They'd taught him everything he knew and then given him this. He glanced up to the ceiling. Wood beams. The building was old, older than the couple themselves when they'd bought it. They'd said there was a lot of history to the place, and he'd never doubted them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The doorbell chimed as he was still in thought. He wiped his hands off on his apron, stepped out of the little kitchen to see who it might be. The faint aroma of yesterday's coffee still hung in the air as Minseok glanced up at him. The first to arrive, and he wasn't technically an employee. Junmyeon hid the fondness of his smile behind a scoff as he took the other's appearance in. The same cream-colored shirt tucked neatly into black dress pants. A color-blocked cardigan with sleeves that eclipsed his fingers. Dark curls that sat atop his head, swaying slightly when he cocked his head to the side.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I would think my shop is the only thing you write about on your blog."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Minseok hummed at that, shrugged. "It's really the only shop I can tolerate that isn't a forty-five-minute drive away."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He could give him that. Junmyeon didn't mind, though, when he rounded the counter. Rolled up his sleeves. This was the part that made him seem so much like an employee. From the moment he'd first stepped foot in the coffee shop, Minseok had made himself a central part of this place. Now, the blogger turned on the machines before Junmyeon had even made mention of them. They fell into a silence that was familiar and comfortable. He could hear the man humming when he returned to the kitchen to check on the bread, only to find that as per usual, Kyungsoo had slipped in through the back entrance.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It wasn't so much that that wasn't </span>
  <em>
    <span>allowed.</span>
  </em>
  <span> It was just that he would have appreciated it if the other made some sort of sound to signify his entrance. Regardless of how often he could expect it, Junmyeon still felt like he'd jumped out of his skin and back into it. The other merely smiled, pulled on some mitts to pull the bread from the oven.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"How's the manuscript coming?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He knew the answer before Kyungsoo had spoken. "I wrote three sentences. It's a masterpiece."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I bet." He chuckled as the other pushed the frames of his glasses up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His hair had grown out since Junmyeon had met him. It'd been cropped short, close to his head. An unfortunate look that didn't help his expression of resting displeasure. That'd softened, somewhat, as the coffee shop owner had come to see that it was just a side effect of hours staring at a page. He was sympathetic to the other's plight, though still couldn't understand what someone with several books under a pen name would be doing working </span>
  <em>
    <span>here.</span>
  </em>
  <span> He'd shrugged it off. Kyungsoo made excellent scones, as far as his customers were concerned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The doorbell chimed and voices boomed and maybe Junmyeon could feel a headache starting. The trio that walked through the door were spectacularly loud in their own right, but they did good work. He could hear Jongdae make his usual joke of switching jobs with Minseok and the other turning him down without hesitation. They'd come after Kyungsoo, hires that had made sense. Felt right.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When the original owners had said the same thing to him, he'd merely laughed it off. Because a store doesn't tell you what feels right. That was something only a person could do.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What're you smirking to yourself for?" When he looked up, Baekhyun grimaced. "Oh. Yeah, no. Don't - don't look at me like that. That's - no." He might have looked repulsed, if not for the small smile he couldn’t conceal. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>A troublemaker, to be sure. Junmyeon had found that his bubbly disposition tended to draw in customers, and soothe even the least of amicable moods. Hiring him had been a decision that was much easier than the owner had anticipated. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m just thinking about how much I love the way the bread is turning out.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Baekhyun’s eyes narrowed, the twitch of his lips borderline mischievous. “Confessions of love towards pastries are frowned upon, boss.” He supplied his own laughter for the joke as he moved to clock in for his shift.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jongdae appeared before Junmyeon next, a pleasant smile on his lips. Which, could only mean trouble, and he suspected the other might have a request in mind. It wasn’t far from it, but —</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Would you like to see my little girl?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was the same question asked every day and, if the other wasn’t sitting on a fortune, he’d be concerned about how much Jongdae worked. He’d been careful to reserve his evenings for his (not like Junmyeon would tell him she </span>
  <em>
    <span>wasn’t</span>
  </em>
  <span>) absolutely adorable snake. It was a point of pride for the other man, and if any of them were to be honest, they’d say he’d had every right to be. White as a pearl and caught the light like one. He’d seen countless pictures of her in various locations in her tank, out in the open. The one that Jongdae didn’t hesitate to show off to Junmyeon has her trying to bury her way into a particularly fuzzy rug. Jongdae himself cooed as he displayed the picture.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Chanyeol seemed to be summoned by the sound, eyes imploring until they landed on the phone. Saved Junmyeon the trouble of moving flour-coated hands to tilt the phone. The smallest of gasps left him before the much taller man was cooing himself. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She’s so cute!” Junmyeon wasn’t sure if the other would admit to the squeal he’d just let out. But they made an exception for pets as fine as Angi. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We should have a bring your pet to work day.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Junmyeon frowned, slightly. “I don’t think the health codes would allow that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, but like, an outing. Moving cafe. And we just bring our pets.” Chanyeol presented the idea at least once a week.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If you really want to see Angi, you could just ask Jongdae to let you come over.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Chanyeol wasn’t always the greatest at hiding his emotions. Especially not where Jongdae and Angi were involved. His ears were red at the tips and he sputtered a bit before finding the right words, a glance cast Jongdae’s way. “N-nah. I just got, like….uh, some real cool fish.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sehun snorted as he walked in through the back door. “No, you didn’t.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>For two people that were supposedly roommates, he wondered how they managed to arrive at different times. Junmyeon had never questioned it, but it was more a rarity for them to come in together than with someone else. The other man took off his jacket and hung it up as he clocked in, but said nothing to dispute his roommate’s claims. Perhaps this was a little bit of goodwill. Or he was waiting for his roommate to flounder in his own web of lies. Sehun seemed to have a penchant for watching people make a fool of themselves.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really?” Junmyeon’s brows rose just as Jongin tromped in.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The dancer dipped toward the ovens before walking around to the front of the cafe, pushing the kitchen door open with his hip. His laughter was loud and clear even as the door swung shut. Probably Baekhyun, again, saying something to him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I named them, uh, after coffee. Dark Roast and Blonde.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What kind of fish are they?” Jongdae had left his Angi-induced daze long enough to ask questions. Or, well, to speak to Chanyeol and make the other even more flustered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I, uh.  Goldfish.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You should show us some time.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was a harmless enough suggestion, but paired with a good-natured pat on the back and a smile, it made the lie just a touch more damning. Chanyeol glanced at Junmyeon as the other waiter left. “I gotta go buy fish today.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Junmyeon hummed. “Not now, though. Clock in and get the expresso started. You cleaned them out yesterday.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The taller man groaned at that. Water flashed up as the owner ran his hands under the faucet, scrubbed the flour from his hands. He shook his hands of excess water as he turned the faucet off. Draped plastic wrap over the bowl of rising dough before pushing out of the kitchen. Kyungsoo was still milling about, getting the other scones started.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The front of the cafe was only slightly busier, with far more people at work there. Somehow in all of this, Yixing had arrived and sat in the corner. Thick black frames were pushed atop his head as he held a paper up. Eyes narrowed as he inspected the figures on it. Junmyeon rounded the counter to him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Didn’t think you would be in today.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yixing startled, looked up. The all too familiar smile that spread over his face warmed Junmyeon a little more than he’d admit to. “I couldn’t help myself.” He shrugged as if this was nothing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s your day off.” He pulled up a chair across from the accountant, who shrugged again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, well.” He paused, considered something he was reading. “I can’t really go a day without seeing your faces.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His cheeks heated at the comment. Logically, he knew the other meant </span>
  <em>
    <span>everyone,</span>
  </em>
  <span> but it didn’t stop the way his heart beat a bit faster. “You could just come in like a regular customer.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And miss the early morning shenanigans? Not a chance.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Of course. “Understandable.” He fiddled with a napkin for a moment, glanced over to the counter where the others were. The antique clock on the wall read almost nine. They’d be opening soon, and customers would wander in as they usually did. A full house in the early morning.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was wondering.” Yixing paused again, licked his lips. For a moment, Junmyeon thought it might have been about work. Something in the numbers. The other had offered to come up with marketing campaigns for them, even when that wasn’t actually what the owner paid him for. And he realized, with a slight start, that he didn’t actually pay Yixing to look over the books, either. He’d have to rectify that. “I was wondering if…we could do something for the holiday.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sure we can figure out a team dinner or something.” It was suspiciously quiet around them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, I meant.” The other chuckled, tipped his head to the side. “I meant the two of us. We don’t really get chances to hang out with just us.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He wasn’t getting his hopes up. Nope. Not at all. “Sure. I’d, uh. I’d love that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Great!” The smile Junmyeon is rewarded with for his answer was one he’d grown to like a considerable amount. But — it really </span>
  <em>
    <span>was</span>
  </em>
  <span> too quiet.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He turned his head in time to see the others turning away. Baekhyun and Jongin had begun to do that awful whistling they did when they thought they were being stealthy. Jongdae and Minseok were suddenly deep in conversation, engrossed in something about importing coffee beans. Chanyeol floundered about for a bit before he tucked tail and ran for the safety of the kitchen. Despite the blush, Junmyeon managed to work up some sort of disapproval.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It didn’t stop him from smiling as he stood and flipped the closed sign to open, a sigh on his lips.</span>
</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>i hope you've enjoyed reading!</p><p><a href="https://twitter.com/discounthaunts">writing acc</a> / <a href="https://twitter.com/discountghosts">main acc</a> / <a href="https://curiouscat.me/remeremerem">cc</a></p></blockquote></div></div>
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